US Airstrikes In Nigeria Follows Growing Pressure Over Violence Against Christians
(ANALYSIS) The U.S. airstrikes against Islamic State–linked militants in Nigeria on Christmas Day represents a notable escalation in an insurgency that Nigeria’s military has struggled to contain for more than a decade.
While the tactical fallout of these strikes remains unclear, their political, religious and strategic significance is harder to miss: Washington appears willing to take a more direct role in a conflict once treated largely as a regional security issue.
President Donald Trump’s framing of the operation as a response to attacks on “innocent Christians” reflects a reaction that has grown over the past year after Republican lawmakers and even celebrities such as Nicki Minaj have put a spotlight on the issue.
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Violence in the African country has cut across both religious and ethnic lines for years, affecting predominantly Christian communities who live in the south.
After the airstrikes, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote in a social media post: “The President was clear last month: The killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end.”
Trump supporters — many of whom have highlighted the issue of Christian persecution in Nigeria and called on the White House to get involved — welcomed the strikes.
“Do not test President Trump’s resolved [sic] in this matter,” said a post from the Republican House member Riley Moore of West Virginia. “Tonight’s strike in coordination with the Nigerian government is just the first step to ending the slaughter of Christians and the security crisis affecting all Nigerians.”
In response to the airstrikes, Nigeria’s government said they were conducted within the framework of intelligence sharing and coordination with the Americans.
In other words, the operation was not a unilateral American intervention, but part of a broader security partnership. That’s despite Nigeria denying that any form of Christian genocide has been taking place within its borders.
“This has led to precision hits on terrorist targets in Nigeria by air strikes in the North West,” the Nigerian government said in a post on X.
Last month, in a global briefing hosted by leading religious freedom advocate Open Doors International, journalist and researcher Stephen Kefas of Kaduna, Abuja House of Representatives member Terwase Orbunde and human rights lawyer and journalist Jabez Musa verified atrocities committed this year against fellow Christians in Nigeria’s Middle Belt and in the nation’s north.
The attacks, the latest in a years-long conflict, pushed the Trump administration closer to the airstrikes that took place on Thursday. At the same time, after Trump recently redesignated Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern for committing or failing to stop egregious religious freedom violations, a false narrative emerged globally that Christians are no more persecuted in the country than Muslims.
More than 12,000 people — including both Christians and Muslims — have been killed in Nigeria by violent groups this year alone, according to Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a monitoring group.
Due to these deaths over the past decade, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has since 2009 consistently called for the U.S. State Department to list Nigeria as a CPC under the International Religious Freedom Act. These recommendations continued under the Bush, Obama and the first Trump administration.
The target of the strikes, according to officials, was Lakurawa, an armed faction aligned with the Islamic State and active in Nigeria’s northwest and in nearby Niger and Mali.
Unlike Boko Haram and its offshoots, Lakurawa operates in a region historically plagued by jihadists. The group’s rise underscores how extremist groups have exploited local insecurity, stepping into governance vacuums under the guise of protection.
Welcomed at first by some to counter bandit groups, Lakurawa has over time alienated many communities through its ruthless violence. Analysts describe a familiar pattern: Armed groups gain legitimacy by offering security, then entrench themselves through intimidation and ideological enforcement. Over time, communities that once tolerated their presence end up viewing them as a greater threat than the bad actors they replaced.
Complicating matters in the region is the overlapping presence of the Islamic State Sahel Province, which has expanded from Niger into parts of northwestern Nigeria. The distinction between Lakurawa and ISSP is often blurred on the ground, making attribution of attacks difficult and raising the risk of miscalculation in military responses.
The fractured cooperation between Nigeria and Niger — following Niger’s 2023 military coup — has only deepened these challenges, limiting cross-border operations in an area where militant groups can easily move and take control of land.
From a broader perspective, the U.S. strikes highlight the internationalization of Nigeria’s ongoing security crisis. While foreign military support may offer short-term tactical gains, airstrikes alone are unlikely to dismantle these deeply-rooted terror networks.
In the end, these strikes pose a fundamental question: Do they mark the start of a sustained campaign against militancy in northwest Nigeria or a symbolic show of force?
The answer to this question will influence not only Nigeria’s future and the security of its Christian citizens, but also the expanding role of external actors in West Africa’s increasingly complex political environment.
Clemente Lisi serves as executive editor at Religion Unplugged.